Life & Love at Mahora
by KiddyGrade8
Summary: An evil force has sight its sights on Mahora. Asuna must fight off their most powerful enemy yet while dealing with what seems to be growing feelings for Ayaka. What's a girl to do? Revised: 19 February 2011.
1. Darkness Falls

**Life & Love at Mahora**

**by: KiddyGrade8**

**FOREWORD**

This is a redraft of my first FanFic story. Please R&R. I hope I didn't jack it up as badly as last time.

And a quick side-note: I skim over the reviews of my stories before I read them; and if I see only complaints without any kind of tips to help me improve, then I don't read the review. Obviously I have no problem with compliments, but constructive criticism is preferred. I seek your help in improving my writing, so only trashing my writing is unwelcomed. If you just want to bitch, then you are not welcome to comment. If you want to bitch and then offer some pointers, then you are fine. If you don't like it, don't read it. It's that simple. **ONLY COMPLAIN IF YOU ARE WILLING TO OFFER POINTERS. **Thank you for taking the time to read this. I may have seemed a bit harsh, but I'm pretty irritated with those aforementioned reviews.

**CHAPTER 1**  
"Where the hell are they all coming from?" Kagurazaka Asuna brought her sword down and split another ogre in two. Why this always happened to her was a mystery. These beasts just kept coming at her from every angle, one after another. Asuna was a blur as she split monstrosity after monstrosity. Gore flew everywhere as she moved her sword in great arcing swings. "Keep moving or it's all over," Setsuna-sensei's voice resounded in her head – those kendo lessons were really starting to paying off. Time for something big. Throwing herself into the air, Asuna focused her chi into her blade and repeated the words that Setsuna had taught her. "Shinmei oni-ryu...Zanma Ken!" Asuna swung her blade with every ounce of strength within her, and decimated the remaining ogres. She thrust the tip of her sword into the ground and collapsed against it, panting heavily. Even with the aid of her Kankahō, that move still took a lot out of her. She toppled backwards and landed on her back, sword falling with her. "A…Abeat…" Her sword vanished in a brilliant flash of white, and a simple card floated gently to the ground near her hand. She laid there for what seemed like hours. Perhaps it was only minutes…A breeze gently rolled through the forest, ruffling her clothes. It kind of felt good. In the forest of the World Tree, Asuna passed silently into an exhausted slumber.

xXxXx

_Hey…Do you think she's okay?_

_I dunno. She doesn't _look_ too bad._

_How long has she been like this?_

_She was brought in about an hour ago. Before that, I don't know…_

A dream? No…Asuna didn't think so. The voices were familiar and sounded far too real.

_OH! Look! She's stirring! Asuna-san!_

She felt someone shoving her, rocking her. Her head felt like it was swimming through a fog. She had to shut her eyes as soon as she opened them, blinded by the light. She slowly pushed herself into a sitting position, clutching her aching side. "Where…Where am I?" The surface she sat on was definitely not ground. It was soft and relatively smooth. It wasn't dirt and grass. A hand was placed on her shoulder. "Hold on, Asuna. I don't think you should be moving too much, yet. You were hurt pretty badly." Asuna would know that voice anywhere. It was Konoka. "Konoka…How did I get here? Did you bring me?"

"It was Kotarô-kun. He found you when he went to investigate a strange feeling he got earlier. He came back carrying you. You were bleeding pretty badly. We were worried about you. Are you okay?" Was she okay? Now that she thought about it, there was a stabbing pain in her left side and she couldn't feel her arm. Even so… "Yeah! I'm fine! C'mon, Konoka! You know how tough I am to break." She feigned a smiled and jokingly flexed her arm. "As soon as Shizuna-sensei lets me outta here, I'll come find you. 'Kay? Don't worry about me." She lay back down, wincing at the pain. "Wow. I was really beaten up, wasn't I?" Shizuna came up to her bedside with a couple of pills and a small glass of water. "You sure were." She bent down and gave Asuna the painkillers and the water. Asuna downed them and emptied the glass. "Just how bad was I?"

"Well…You were bleeding pretty badly from your left side. You were so pale; I'd thought you were already dead. Luckily, you really hadn't lost too much; so I only had to manage to staunch the bleeding. You'll be able to return to class in a couple of days." Kotarô tried to sound like he was worried; but in truth, the whole situation amused him. It was noticeable. "You're an ass, you mangy mutt. You know that? Get outta here!" Kotarô started to protest; but was promptly shooed from the room by Konoka, who insisted of hitting him on the nose with a newspaper whenever he resisted thinking it would be 'cute.' She then turned back into the room and told Asuna how she was going to be late for class, and proceeded to walk off down the hall. Asuna laid there in silence, trying to piece everything together. Where did those ogres come from that attacked her? What the hell was she even doing in the forest, anyways? Everything seemed blurry before the attack. She raised her hands and gently placed them over her face and sighed. "Shizuna-sensei? You're one of _those_ teachers, right?"

Shizuna didn't turn around to answer her, as she was busy with all sorts of paperwork. "Whatever do you mean, Asuna-san?" The _scritch-scritch_ing of her pen seemed abnormally loud in the excessively quiet room. "I think you know what I mean. Like Negi Takahata-sensei?" She heard the pen click as Shizuna set it down. "Are you asking if I'm a witch, Asuna? I can't answer that."

"Oh? Being so secretive about it only tells me you are." She heard Shizuna's chair move as she stood. "Your logic is flawed, Asuna-san. Do I know about sorcery? Yes, I admit that I do. Am I supposed to talk about it? Technically, I've already said too much. You may be a Ministra Magi; but by wizarding standards, you're still just a civilian. Now please, get some sleep; or your wounds will never heal." She neatly picked up a couple from papers from her desk and tucked them under her arm. "I'm afraid I have to go speak with the headmaster for a bit. Please, don't try anything while I'm gone." The clacking of her heels on the floor followed her out of the room and down the hall. Asuna really didn't have much choice in doing anything. Hell…Just moving her arm earlier hurt so much that she had to fight for consciousness. If she tried moving, she'd end up falling to the floor and reopening her wounds. Then she full-well might just bleed out all over the floor before Shizuna-sensei even got back. She just laid there, staring at the white ceiling, the sound of the fluorescent lights the only noise in the room other than the occasional sound of class drifting down the hall. _I wonder…What would Ayaka say if she saw me in this condition?_ She laughed.

Wait…What? That was an odd thought. Why the hell would she care what Ayaka would say? She never has before…Maybe she just hit her head harder than the thought. Yeah, that was it. Perhaps she aught to get more sleep. Not much else she _could_ do. She closed her eyes and listened to the hum of the lights. It was…soothing; and it didn't take her long to drift into a dreamless slumber.

xXxXx

It was dark when she woke up. Rather, it was that limbo between dark and light. Was it dusk, or dawn? It was hard to tell for sure. She slowly and painfully turned her head, looking for a clock; but found none. Perfect. She was wide awake and in pain with no sense of time. She decided that she was going to ask Konoka to patch her up the next time she came to visit. This was bullshit, and she'd had enough. There was no way that she was spending a whole freaking day staring at the ceiling. She muscled herself into a sitting position, forcing herself to stay conscious as she did so. The problem now was just finding a way to pass the time. She tried several things. Counting odds and ends lying around the room; watching the animals outside (she now knew that it was daybreak); she eventually just settled on daydreaming, which led to reminiscing. She found herself recalling old memories from way back when. When she'd first met Negi, oh how she'd wanted to kill him. The Kyoto trip…A nightmare, but [perhaps it was a blessing in disguise. They'd made a skilled new ally (as much as she hated admitting that). Hmm…They'd had so many good times, and so many bad. In the end, it always turned out okay. It was almost a shame to think that it all might change when they graduated into the high school.

What would happen? Just how much would things change? Maybe they wouldn't be able to go with Negi on all of his escapades, but unable to protect him. The thought almost made her sad. The gang being broken up, all of their shared experiences fading into the dust of the past. No…That wouldn't happen…Would it? She sighed. For some reason, her thoughts drifted back to Ayaka once more. Would they still be the same? What? No! Asuna shook her head, disregarding the pain. She didn't give a damn if she ever saw Ayaka again. But…If that were true…Then why did she keep coming back to the redhead's thoughts? Did this have something to do with her near-death experience? She placed her heads in her hands, cringing, and groaned. Just what the hell happened to her yesterday? "Gah, whatever. It doesn't matter." It was only now that she noticed how it hurt less to moved than it had when she had woken up. There was a quiet knock on the door.

"Umm…Shizuna-sensei? Are you there?" She wasn't, so Asuna had to respond. She knew who it was, anyways. "No, she's not here yet. Come on it, Setsuna-sempai." The door slid open with a clack and Setsuna walked in, with Nodoka and Haruna not far behind. "I'm sorry, Asuna; but they insisted on coming with. I saw no reason to say no." Asuna waved her hand dismissively. "You know I don't care, Setsuna-sempai, I-" Setsuna cut her off. "I asked you to stop calling me that, Asuna. It makes me feel…I dunno…old, I guess. Just stop." Asuna shrugged. "Whatever. As I was saying: I hope you know something about what happened yesterday. Those ogres came out of nowhere." Setsuna shook her head. "I don't actually _know_ anything about the ogres, but I speculate that they might be related to some other weird occurrences that have been cropping up, starting about an hour ago."

"Like what?"

"Well…These occurrences aren't anything big; and it appears that people with little to no magical power don't even acknowledge these changes, as if the changes were the norm. For example: some of the girls at this school are now lesbians, some lesbians are now straight. There are people who were never here before, and some people have just up and vanished. But the strangest thing is that these people are noticed to be either missing or present, so it doesn't appear that the past itself has been changed. It's almost as if…there were a tear in the temporal fabric that's completely changing our world…" Her gaze glanced up towards Asuna, who she could tell was confused. "The temporal fabric is the layer of existence that is comprised of space and time. Like the cells in your body, sort of. If the cells in your body are changed, you would be changed." Haruna and Nodoka stood silently nearby as they tried to follow the conversation. "Look, Asuna…All these weird occurrences and the fact that you were attacked yesterday all point to one thing, and I pray that I'm wrong." Asuna could see the fear in Setsuna's eyes, a fear that she had never seen before. The fact that Setsuna was scared scared Asuna. "What is it, Setsuna? What's happening?"

"Something…is coming. Something powerful enough to tear its way into our world. Something powerful enough to change existence with nothing more than its very presence. Knowing our luck, Asuna…It's coming here, and I'm not sure if we can handle it. Asuna…I fear that the apocalypse draws near…" These last words were whispered so that Nodoka and Haruna couldn't overhear, but they could guess that the news was grave as they watched what little color was present drain from her face. "Setsuna…Where's Konoka? If what you say is true, and even if it's hopeless, we have to fight it; and I need to be in top physical condition if I'm gonna help." Setsuna pulled a chair close and sat down. "Asuna, I think this is out of our hands. I don't think that we of Ala Alba can handle this. I'm not even sure if Ala Rubra could handle something this big."

"So you intend to just sit here and do nothing while the world crumbles around us? That's not like you, Setsuna! When did you become such a coward? If we don't even try, then the world is guaranteed to end; and then everybody will die. Even Konoka. I've never known you to stand by while Konoka was in danger, now where is she? I need her to heal what she can, and then we need to figure out what to do. I assume you've already told Negi?" Setsuna nodded. "Yeah, I've told him; and when I left Konoka-ojōsama, she was still asleep." Haruna perked up at this. "Ohh…So you and Konoka spent the night in the same room, huh? It's about time!"

"Haruna, no…That's none of our business." Nodoka tried interrupting Haruna, but to no avail. Setsuna turned bright red at the confrontation and subconsciously tugged on her skirt as if a gust of wind had caught it. "No, wait…It's not what you…I mean to say that that came out wrong…I…" Asuna laid a hand on her shoulder. "Hey, calm down Setsuna. There's nothing to be ashamed about. We could all tell that you two were in love with each other. You had us betting, to be honest. You should hold your head high and be proud. I'm not saying to go around broadcasting that you slept with another girl, mind you; but you don't need to be ashamed. Nobody is more deserving of Konoka's love. Congrats." _Thought I do think that that's taking it a little too fast…_ She kept that thought to herself as she smiled at Setsuna, whose blushing faded but did not subside. "Umm…Thanks, Asuna. I'll bring her by later." Setsuna leapt out of the chair and scurried out of the room. As soon as she was around the corner, Asuna grabbed Haruna by the collar of her jacket and pulled her close. "Alright, you, listen up. _NOBODY _hears about this, got it?"

"Aww, c'mon Asuna! You said it yourself; she doesn't have anything to be ashamed of!" Haruna had a mischievous look in her eye. "Alright, Haruna…I'll cut you a deal. Setsuna's got a reputation and an image to keep up. If those get buried because of you telling people, then I'll bury you in return. Comprendé?" Asuna got her message through very clear and Haruna sighed. "Fine, whatever. Not that many people would care anyways, mind you. Asakura might, if only for her database on our class; but not for much else." She glanced at the clock and, noticing how late it was, said a hurried goodbye to Asuna and rushed off to class with Nodoka at her heels. Was it really so late? Then, shouldn't Shizuna-sensei have come in, yet? Now that she noticed it, something felt…off…about the campus now. She couldn't quite put her finger on it, but she could definitely feel it. Perhaps that's why Shizuna-sensei was late. Maybe the sorcerers at the school were having a meeting. Asuna could only hope for so much.

Either way, Asuna couldn't just sit around and do nothing. "Y'know what? It's time for class, and I'll be damned if I ditch today." Asuna smirked to herself and she tossed the covers from herself and practically jumped from the bed. She stumbled in pain once, and then regained her composure. She nonchalantly brushed a strand of hair from her shoulder, checked to make sure that she still had her _pactio_ card, and then departed the room for class still wrapped in bandages and blood.

xXxXx

The class was in its usual uproar when Asuna walked in. Nothing _looked_ different, but that feeling of discomfort still lingered. The further into the classroom she walked, the quieter everybody became. She came up behind Setsuna and Konoka, who were still talking, and bit them good morning. "Asuna! What are you doing out of the infirmary?" Clearly, Setsuna had not thought Asuna stubborn enough to come to class in her condition. "Forget that," This time it was Ayaka who was speaking. "What the rest of us want to know is what you did to end up in bloody bandages in the infirmary in the first place!" Asuna sneered and walked past her to her seat. "I got into a little fight. Got a problem with that?" Ayaka forcibly placed her hands onto the desk in front of Asuna. "YES, I have a problem with that! We can't have hooligans like you going around and tarnishing the name of class 3-A, do you understand me?" Asuna's gaze met her green eyes and she felt her heart pulse. Asuna ignored this as she knocked the blonde's hands from the desk. "Oh please, Ayaka. Like you care about that crap. You're just trying to save face in front of Negi." She smirked snidely towards her. "Too bad that there wasn't anything worth saving to begin with."

"How dare you! You wanna go? I'll bust those wounds open again!" Asuna stood up again and stared her down. "You're welcome to try your luck, Blondie!" She proudly patted one of her wounds and winced as she realized that it hadn't completely closed, yet. "It took a lot more than you can dish out to put these here in the first place!" The class could feel the tension in the air rise, also per the usual morning routine, and the two hot-headed young women started their fight.

"It's good to see that Asuna's feeling better, isn't it Set-chan?" Konoka wrapped her arms around Setsuna's right arm and hugged herself against it, head on her shoulder. "You know, Set-chan," she whispered, "I never had the chance to thank you for last night." Setsuna started absentmindedly stroking Konoka's hair. "I'm sorry I had to leave before you woke, ojōsama; but something important came up. I'll make it up to you." Konoka nuzzled herself even closer to her lover and sighed contentedly. "You mean tonight? Whatever came up must be big. You're always so bashful when it comes to me. I'm glad that you're finally opening up."

"Sorry, ojōsama; but I don't think tonight's a good night. Don't you feel it? There's a dreadful miasma that's falling over the campus. I'm sure Asuna feels it too. That's why she left the infirmary in her condition." She looked out the window and watched the leaves rustle on the trees outside while a breeze gently rolled through. It might have almost passed as an ordinary day if the air wasn't ripe with the stench of evil. Except, something was also different about the view outside. It took her a few seconds to figure out just what it was, but Asuna noticed it instantly as she glanced over Ayaka's shoulder and out the window. Above the World Tree was the figure of a man. He sat there motionless in the air as a king would sit upon a throne, but in place of the royal scepter appeared to be a medieval-era sword. It was hard to make out many details from such a distance, but he appeared to have very light blonde and unkempt hair and seemed to be clad in black. He also seemed to be watching them. The very sight of him paralyzed Setsuna with fear and she tensed up. Her absentminded stroking of Konoka's hair grew much rougher. "Ow! Set-chan, that hurts!" When she saw how Setsuna's gaze was transfixed out the window and the look of utter terror in her eyes, she also looked out the window; but saw nothing. The man had only been there for what seemed to be an instant, but it had seemed like much longer to Setsuna.

Asuna, on the other hand; was drawn to the man's eyes. They were a luminous red and could be seen with ease. As if the man were right in front of her, she seemed to be pulled into those eyes. She found herself staring into them, and they seemed to grow ever brighter until (when they at last faded out) she found herself encompassed in darkness. She looked around and saw nothing. She just drifted there with no sight and no sound; only visions of tragedies. She was plagued with visions of death. Her friends, the class, Headmaster Konoe, Takamichi, Negi, everybody. She saw their bloody, lifeless corpses strewn about and the academy in flames. _No…_ Her thoughts seemed to echo in the darkness. _What is this? Where am I? Why am I seeing these things? Make them stop._ More visions came to her. She now saw a flood of demons, a castle rising from the earth, the world engulfed in a sea of flames, and then…nothing. _Why? Why are you showing me these things?_

"Because…" The voice that answered was not her own, though it came from her lips. It was a low tenor voice and slightly raspy. "I show you these because your fear and agony are pleasurable to me. You humans are all the same. I simply show you the end of your world and you fall to pieces. How I hate you…" The voice faded to silence and the visions of Armageddon were now replaced by vision of Asuna's own demise. Thousands of images flooded into her head at a blinding speed. She felt as though her head would split. She felt her heart grow heavy with sorrow as she watched herself die time and time again. _Make it stop. Please…Make it stop!_ She felt tears welling up inside her. A strange sensation. She couldn't remember the last time she'd actually cried. _Stop it. Stop it, stop it, STOP IT!_ The last thoughts screamed through her head and she found herself back in the classroom on her knees with her head cradled in her hands and tears flowing down her face. The entire class was silent and all eyes were on her. She gathered that she had actually screamed out before collapsing.

Ayaka crouched down in front of her, giving Asuna a lovely view up her skirt (to which Asuna blushed and averted her eyes) and placed a hand on Asuna's shoulder. "Asuna-san…What's wrong?" Asuna wiped the cold sweat from her face and gently brushed her aside with a trembling hand. "…Nothing. You wouldn't understand, even if I told you." Asuna walked back to her seat and sat down without another word. A genuine look of concern flickered across Ayaka's face, but she curtly stood up and scoffed. "See, what did I tell you? Red's completely off her rocker." Asuna didn't bother to respond and remained silent through class, even though her fear still caused her to tremble the entire time. Negi didn't show up for class, but the substitute said that he would return the next day. Perfect. The one person she wanted to talk to wasn't there. Just freaking perfect. She sighed. "Oh, well. It's not like I won't see him back in the room. It'd probably be better to talk to him there, anyways."

The rest of the class period was uneventful. Even the feeling of unease was lifted. Naturally, Asuna and Setsuna met after their classes had ended. "Asuna. Do you want to tell me what really happened earlier?" Asuna wrapped her arms around herself and averted her eye. "You saw that man out the window, right? I looked into his eyes, and…it was terrible. He made me watch myself die over and over again. Not…Not even I could take such torture. Even now, I feel empty. It's like he sucked the life out of me." Setsuna could only try and imagine what watching herself die could feel like, and just trying made her feel empty as well. "I'm sorry, Asuna. I wish I could've helped you." Asuna turned and started to walk in the direction of the dorms. "Setsuna, you take care of things. I'm going to go to sleep. Maybe I'll feel better when I wake up."

"Before you go, Asuna, I have a question. Do you think he's the cause of the recent events?" Asuna didn't stop walking, but answered nonetheless that she was certain of it. She waved at Setsuna over her shoulder and left the building.

"Don't worry about her, Set-chan." Setsuna jumped at the break in the silence. She turned and was greeted by a light peck on the cheek from Konoka. "She'll feel better in no time. I patched her up after first period and there's someone swinging by our room later to talk to her. She'll be fine!" Konoka started tugging on Setsuna's arm, lightly guiding her towards the door. "C'mon, Set-chan! Let's go do something!" Setsuna smiled and gave in, following Konoka out into the campus courtyard and anywhere else she felt like going.

xXxXx

In essence, Asuna felt as though she were dead on the inside; like she was nothing more than an animate corpse with a mysterious puppeteer pulling her strings from the shadows, just barely keeping her from death. She had never realized just how many times she had come just a hairsbreadth away from to dying. "Why is this affecting me so badly? I guess my body just wasn't healed enough to handle the shock…" Or maybe being so injured yesterday helped this put things in perspective, she wasn't sure. Her head rapped softly against the wood of her dorm's door as she let out a pained sigh. She fumbled with her room key as she tried to pull it from her bag and let herself in, shutting the door behind her. Once inside, she unceremoniously threw her bag onto the couch and tossed herself onto the floor. Climbing in to her bed seemed too much of a hassle at the time. She found small entertainment in watching the ceiling fan spin lazily.

It wasn't long before there was a soft rapping at the door. Asuna wasn't quite in the mood to talk, so she remained silent in hopes that they would leave. This hope grew dimmer as they knocked again, a little harder this time. "It's open," she called weakly. It felt like her throat had dried out. The door creaked open and Ayaka poked her head through. "Are you busy right now, Asuna?" Asuna lifted her head just enough to give her a look of idiocy then returned to her prone position. "What do you think?" In spite of her sarcastic and slightly hostile attitude, she was happy that her old friend had come to visit. "I'm not here to fight with you, Asuna. I just want to talk." Her voice was uncharacteristically tender, so Asuna decided to hear her out. "Fine. What brings you here?"

"I'm worried. I want you to tell me what happened in class today. It wasn't like you, and whatever it was is clearly still eating at you." Asuna crawler to her feet and looked her in the eye. "You must really be curious if you came over here to find out. Why are you so interested?" Asuna was ready for some smartass comment about coming all the way down the hall to check on her, but was completely taken aback by the response. "Well…We're friends, aren't we? Sure, you've been in bad shape before; but never like this." Asuna was quiet for a minute, almost like the depression had taken hold of her again. "Friends? I'd say that's pushing the word a bit, wouldn't you? Cheesy lines like that aren't you're style, Ayaka, so I know you're lying. If you want to know the truth, you could at least give me the truth in kind. Why are you so concerned about me now when you've never taken any interest before?" Ayaka's eyes dropped to the floor as she searched for the right words.

"I…I've always been concerned when you come to class beaten up and bandaged. I just never knew how to approach you about it, but I had to talk to you about this because whatever it is is making you suffer. What kind of friend would I be if I didn't at least try and help?" Asuna suppressed the urge to laugh, which took quite an amount of effort of her part. "Ayaka, I already told you that the 'we're friends' line isn't going to cut it, so…" Ayaka cut her off by grabbing her shoulders and pulling her in to a deep and passionate kiss, taking her completely by surprise; and Asuna' heart started pounding. Through Ayaka's lips, it was like Asuna could read all of the blonde's feelings. She could feel Ayaka's passion in it, and this was clearly not a feeling that sprang up overnight. This was something she had been bottling up for years. Asuna couldn't help but wonder what Ayaka was reading from her.

After about a minute, Ayaka finally pulled away and broke the kiss. "Then what if I told you that it's because I'm in love with you and I can't stand seeing you in so much pain?" Asuna felt light-headed, and she ended up stumbling backwards before tripping and collapsing on Konoka's bed. She sat there for a second trying to gather up the energy to stand; but found herself standing very quickly when she remembered what had happened last night, presumably in this bed. "I'm sorry, Asuna. I know that was sudden, and I…I didn't want to have to put it so bluntly, but you really weren't giving me any other options." Ayaka's voice trailed off and she started fidgeting with her hands. Asuna touched her fingers to her lips, not entirely sure if she was displeased with Ayaka's actions. "…When did this happen? I was under the impression that you had a thing for Negi…"

"I've felt this way for years. So long that I can even remember when these feelings started. I'm ashamed to admit that I was just using Negi-sensei in order to make you jealous." The two of them sat there in silence for what seemed like an eternity while Asuna tried to put words to the myriad of feelings going through her at the moment. "Ayaka, I…I can't give you an answer right now. I'm not sure what it is, exactly, that I feel right now. When you…kissed me, my heart raced and I felt the happiest I have in a long time; but I'm more confused than anything right now. Truth be told, I think I only started coming to terms with what seems like feelings for you only last night after this," she indicated to her wounds, "happened. This might be the shock tricking me, or my body could be tricking me while it heals. I can't say for sure; so please wait a little longer, okay?" Ayaka said nothing, but appeared to be very upset as she turned to leave. Asuna felt a pang of regret at how that turned out, so she stopped her with a hand on her shoulder. Ayaka turned, and Asuna returned her kiss. Ayaka's eyes seemed to light up with joy at this, but Asuna quickly broke it. "I hope that that's enough for now. Besides, that whole sweet and tender act really doesn't suit you."

A smile tugged at Ayaka's lips. "Oh, Asuna…Trying to pick a fight even now. I don't know what it is about you that I can't resist."

"Well, you know me. Always the troublemaker." She held a smile for a second before she became serious again. "When the time is right, Ayaka; I'll give you my response. And then I'll tell you everything…"

"Alright. I'll hold you to that, Asuna." She smiled and thanked her before she left the room. As soon as she was sure that Ayaka was gone, she started voicing her thoughts to herself. "My God, she has a beautiful smile. I wonder how I never noticed it before." She leapt up onto her bed and laid there. "Just how long has all of this been going on?" She thought about how in love she had been with Takamichi, but she didn't feel the pang that she had used to. "Is this how I truly feel? Or is it _his_ doing, pulling strings from the shadows?" She lifted her hand from under her head and examined it. It _looked_ like her hand, she still _felt_ like herself. Maybe that man she saw wasn't pulling her strings. Maybe this was just her true feelings.

"Well, well, Asuna-san. I can honestly say that I never expected _that_ from you. A total shocker in my book." Asuna sat up to see who was in her room and hit her head on the ceiling in the process. She rubbed her head as she raised her gaze and looked around, not finding anybody. "Huh? Who's there?"

"Yo. Down here." She caught a glimpse of motion below her and edged her head over the side of her bed and saw Kazumi sitting in the window, one leg dangling out, waving at her. "Oh, it's you. What do you want, Asakura-san?" She was wearing her signature malicious smirk, telling Asuna that things were going to go bad. "Oh, nothing. I just wanted to talk to you about these." She tossed her camera up to Asuna with a specific group of pictures running in a slideshow on the screen. Of course, they were pictures of Asuna and Ayaka kissing. "I never pegged you for being so foolish, Asakura-san. Even if I cared about these pictures getting out, what's to stop me from deleting these right now?"

"Oh, come on now Asuna-san. Of course I copied those to another card." She slipped a hand into her sock and pulled out another card for her camera. "Yeah, I was hanging outside the whole time and heard the whole story, but everybody else doesn't know it. All I have to do is print these photos in the paper and make up some BS story, and both those anti-homosexuality people AND the stalker pervs will be all over both of your asses. However, I have just a few questions to ask you and a possible favor as well, depending on your answers. Play along, and your tough girl rep is safe." Asuna tossed the camera back. "Whatever. Are you just gonna sit there? Get out of my window before I push you out. Call me crazy; but if you're willing to try and blackmail me into something, you're not too willing to talk about it openly." Kazumi gave her an informal two-finger salute and climbed in, closing the window shut firmly behind her while Asuna gracefully leapt from the bed. "All right, Asuna-san, let's cut right to the chase. I'm sure you're well aware of all these weird changes that have been happening today. I'm also sure that your breakdown today is related to that. I want you to tell me just what the hell is going on."

"If you really want to know what's going on, then you should be asking Setsuna instead of me. All I can tell you is that there's some guy on campus dressed in black with light blonde hair and red eyes with a sword and the whole school feels like something's off. It's possible he's pulling strings and changing things for his own amusement, or it could be deeper than that. That's everything I know. Like I said, Setsuna's the one to talk to about that. Tatsumiya-san might know something as well, but I doubt it."

"Hm. Fine, I'll find Sakurazaki-san later. Next question. You're fairly close to Miyazaki-chan, right?" Kazumi's only briefly broke eye contact with Asuna as she asked this. "I am. What does that have to do with anything, Asakura-san?" She facepalmed as realization hit her. "Oh. I get it, I get it. Just friggin' perfect. I'd always thought that you were straight, Asakura-san." Kazumi blushed, but answered unfazed. "I am, or rather…I was until today. For some reason, she just really stood out to me today. At first, I paid it no mind, but by the end of class I couldn't take my eyes off of her. I even caught myself fantasizing. That's why I want to know what's happening here. I'm sure that whatever is going on at the school today is the cause. Do you at least know if this feeling will fade away?" Asuna shrugged. "Dammit. Then here comes the favor I mentioned. I want you to help me get Miyazaki-chan to agree to a single date with me."

"Are you serious, Asakura-san? How the hell would I do that? You _do_ know that she's hopelessly in love with Negi, right?" Kazumi leaned back against the window and crossed her arms. "Yeah, I know she's in love with Negi-sensei; but here's how I see it: Right now, I'm betting everything on anomaly affecting her like it did me. There are two outcomes that I can foresee if this holds true, and two if it doesn't.  
Outcome #1: It affects her like it does me and she agrees. The effects are only temporary and I use the time I get until you kick this guy's ass to do research for my class database.  
Outcome #2: It affects her like it does me and she agrees. The effects are not temporary and we go about a normal relationship.  
Outcome #3: It affects her like it does me and she refuses. Whatever, forget about it.  
Outcome #4: It doesn't affect her and we forget this whole thing ever happened. So whaddaya say?"

Asuna groaned. Kazumi had definitely thought this out. "Why is this happening to _me_? What did I do this time?" Kazumi tried to pat her on the shoulder. "Relax, wouldja? It's not like I'm paying you for a hit or anything. And I'm doing this to you because you're the one who let yourself get photographed kissing your oldest friend and rival." Asuna vowed that the next time she saw that man from before, she'd kick his ass. "Alright, fine. We'll go and talk to Nodoka-chan. I had no idea that you were such a wuss, Asakura-san."

"Normally, I wouldn't be; but I don't know how to handle this sudden change. Coming on to guys is no problem for me. I have no experience in hitting on girls, and I really don't have any intention of needing to know how once this is all over." She walked over into the kitchen as she was talking and pulled open the fridge. Asuna found herself irritated at Kazumi's presumptuousness. Kazumi reached in and pulled out a fresh bottle of water and asked if she could have it. "Yeah, sure. Whatever. Can we just get this over with already? I dunno if you've noticed, but I'm not exactly in any shape to be out and about for too long. It still hurts just to stand." Kazumi lightly kicked the fridge shut as she left and quickly downed a swig of water. "And? You've never had any problem dealing with injuries before."

"It's not that I can't deal with it, I just want to avoid reopening my wounds if possible. I don't enjoy pain. Shocking, I know." She grabbed Kazumi by the shoulders and pushed her over to the door. "Alright, alright already. I'm not in any rush, fyi. Can't we just have a conversation?" Asuna opened the door and gestured for Kazumi to go first. "Maybe some other time, Asakura-san. Right now, I'm a little preoccupied." The door clicked shut behind them. Whether it was the door to opportunity or the gateway to Hell was soon to be seen.


	2. The Man in Black

**CHAPTER 2**

A black fog had fallen over the World Tree forest during the early morn of that same day; yet it went completely unnoticed, as if it didn't exist at all. The fear it contained still drove all who entered the forest to run, however. The atmosphere within felt of death and despair and the air tasted of rotten flesh and curdled blood. To all with any magical aptitude, it would not sound far-fetched to hear that the Reaper himself now hid within. Even the wildlife had fled.

_So…The young princess seems to have regained her composure. Good…I would hate to see such talent go to waste…_

A figure darted eloquently between trees, lightly following the path that his quarries were taking as he kept a close watch on them. There was and occasional red glare that caught Asuna's attention once or twice, causing her to look over into the forest; but she couldn't see anything. "Yo. What are you looking at, Asuna-san?" Asuna was quiet for a second, her eyes scanning the trees and finding nothing. "It's nothing. I thought I saw something, that's all." She had lied. It was more than just that. She _knew_ that she saw something, and she could feel it watching her even now. It was a dreadful feeling. Not like a crush sneaking loving glances at you, but more like a sniper about execute you. There was a dark intent behind it, and this whole thing made her feel uncomfortable. She wondered to herself where Negi had vanished to. Of all the times for him to vanish, he had to disappear when they needed him most.

_So, she tries to assist a fellow classmate. One weak enough to succumb to my presence._ A wicked grin spread wide across the figures lips. _Mayhap I will play around with her friends first. Let her see the ease with which I can pull the strings of one's heart._ A blood-curdling laughter sounded and the figure faded away into the mist, a laugh neither Asuna nor Kazumi missed. The girls whirled around, hands moving instinctively to their pactio cards. "Asuna-san…What the hell was that?" Asuna slowly pulled the card from the pocket inside her school jacket, getting ready to summon her weapon should the need arise. "I don't know, but it sent a chill down my spine." She pulled the card from her jacket and placed it to her forehead, trying to contact Negi. Instead of his voice, she received a sharp magical shock from her card and a different voice. As she flinched from the shock, the card slipped from her hand.

_Now, now, princess…We cannot have you calling your young wizard friend, can we? It is not yet time for such._ A bead of sweat rolled down Asuna's cheek when the man spoke to her. She knew that voice. It was one that she was not likely to forget any time soon.

Kazumi bent down and picked up Asuna's card for her, looking at it curiously. "Asuna…What's going on? Is it him? That man you mentioned earlier?" Asuna nodded curtly, not once taking her eyes from the forest. "Asakura-san. Run. We have to get to the library; or any building for that matter. We should be safer if we get inside." She grabbed her card from Kazumi and took off in the direction of the library with the reporter hot on her heels. The two pushed the other pedestrians out of their way, apologizing on the fly. The feeling of being watched never left Asuna, leaving her with the impression that he was following.

"Asakura-san, he's following us. The next time the road her forks, you go left and I'll go right. He can't follow both of us. In case he decides to follow you instead of me: do not stop running, even to look back. We'll meet at the library." Kazumi nodded and pulled off into the alley that had just come up on her left.

_So you believe that I may be so easily evaded. I daresay that you aught think more thoroughly._

Asuna felt a powerful presence behind her and found herself stopping against her will. Her feet had brought her to a stop before one of the many on-campus churches. The sound of screeching came from the roof, bringing her to look towards the roof. The man stood perfectly poised upon the belfry with the cross that had been built atop bent out of shape and away from him, seemingly forced that way because his evil aura overpowered its holiness. "Greetings, young Kagurazaka. Or should I say, young Entheofushia? I have long awaited the day which we would meet." He was clearly not speaking Japanese, but Asuna found that she could understand him nonetheless. With the utterance of a single word, Asuna's card disappeared in a flash of light and was replaced with her sword: the _Ensis exorcizans_. "Who the hell are you? How do you know my name?" His laugh glued her in place with fear as a scantily-clad woman melded from the darkness next to him, leapt from the roof, and landed gracefully before her. "I represent Count Vlad Ţepeş. How we came to know of you is of no consequence. Seal your weapon, girl. The Master has no intention of fighting this day." Ţepeş…Why did that name sound so damned familiar?

"That's a lie. Why else would you confront me?" Asuna's eyes narrowed as she gave the man on the roof the once-over. He looked as if he had jumped from the pages of a history book. His clothes were Victorian-era at the very latest. Hers was of similar fashion but much more revealing. Where he wore a black cape with red lining, she had black bat-like wings that were red between the limbs. Clearly she was a being of demonic blood. "Why, you ask? It is simple. He desires your power, and I come now bearing only a message. Join us, and he shall grant you life everlasting. Lend your power to us now for this single task, and you can continue about your heroism for the rest of eternity." Asuna pointed her blade at the woman's throat. "Why the hell would I help you? I may not be the smartest, but even I can tell that you intentions are far from noble."

"Hmph. Very well, then. Allow me to recite to you his other terms, then, should they please you better. You will aid him, or he will wipe this academy from the map." She started at Asuna with those inhumanly red eyes as she gently placed a hand atop Asuna's sword and forcibly shoved it into the ground. "Starting with your beloved Ayaka, and your professor, and your close friend Konoka. Humans are nothing but bugs, and killing them all would be nothing to us. If you say no, I'll kill your friend Kazumi right now." This caused Asuna to go wide-eyed. "W-What? How? How could you if you're here in front of me, and she's nowhere near here?" The woman laughed. "It would be as simple as breathing, princess. You cannot even begin to fathom the power that the master…" She was cut short as ropes of shadows wrapped around her, binding her to herself and preventing her from talking. The man who had been on the roof just moments before walked past Asuna to face his servant, completely submersing Asuna in an aura that reeked of darkness as she could only tremble at what now seemed to be sheer speed.

"That is quite enough out of you. Return now, lest I return your corpse." His hand rested on the hilt of his sword. Asuna watched the fear dawn in the winged woman's eyes as she faded from sight, and her own heart skipped several beats as he turned his abyssal red eyes to her. There wasn't even the slightest trace of compassion in those eyes. "Listen to me close, girl. I shall grant you no more than two hours to make your decision. This school shall cease to exist afterwards. I shall be watching, when you are ready to give me your answer." He then vanished in a column of black light, his overwhelming aura with him.

Asuna dropped her sword and collapsed to her knees, gasping for air. "Th-This is bad. Very bad. What the hell am I going to do? How in the world can we fight somebody like that?" Vlad Ţepeş…That name was hauntingly familiar. She sealed her card again and raced off to the library. With any luck, Kazumi was there safely and Nodoka might know where Asuna has heard of this new enemy. _Please, God…_ She thought to herself, _Let them be safe._

xXxXx_  
_

Asuna kicked the doors for the library in and rushed through with her _Ensis exorcizans_ at the ready. She looked around for any sign of the cloaked man she'd met, but saw only bewildered students staring at her and her massive blade. One of the librarian girls screamed. "Is that a sword! What the Hell!" Asuna stood there at a loss for words as she tried to come up with an excuse. "Asuna-san…" She would recognize that soft voice anywhere. Nodoka came around the corner of a bookshelf with a fairly tall stack of books piled in her arms. "How many times do I have to ask you to not bring your props in here? I understand that you need to rehearse, but this really isn't the place." At least someone could think on the fly. Asuna feigned embarrassment as she sputtered nonsense. "Oh, yeah…Right. Sorry about that. I just keep forgetting. Sorry I keep causing so much trouble, Miyazaki-chan." Someone leaned up against her.

"Damn, Asuna-san. You just keep getting into trouble today, don't you?" Naturally; it was Kazumi who was leaning against her, twirling a pen in her hand. "You're alright?" Asuna lowered her voice so that only Kazumi could hear her. "Nothing permanent. That feeling of being strangled vanished almost as soon as we split up. He followed you, then?"

"You bet your ass he did, and he's definitely not human. His eyes, there seemed to be no life in them at all. The way he talked, moved…I can't see any way in which he _is_ human." She heard Kazumi hum thoughtfully as they walked to a back corner, Asuna still playing the part of a sword-wielding actress and her prop. "I do think I got his name, though. One of his servants said his name was 'Vlad Ţepeş.' It sounds so familiar, but I can put my finger on it. Ring any bells to you"

"Nah. Not one. We're in the right place if you wanna look 'im up, tho'." She flipped the pen upwards, caught it, and slipped it back into the binding of her notebook in one fluid movement. "I'll bet that between Miyazaki-san and me, we'll find everything you wanna know." A short squeal later: Nodoka joined them, still balancing her pile of books. "Asuna-san! Why are you barging in here with your sword?" She was trying to keep her voice down while she expressed several mixed feelings at once. "I'll explain everything later, Nodoka-chan. Right now, I have a question for you. Do you know the name Vlad Ţepeş?" Nodoka's eyes drifted upwards thoughtfully. "Do you mean Vlad Ţepeş, as in Vlad the Impaler? Yeah, I know about him. Born in 1062 as Mathias Cronqvist, he became well-known as an alchemist. Legend says that he was distraught over the death of his wife in 1094 and struck a deal to become a vampire himself in order to take revenge on God. This coincides with the time that he changed his name. He later became known as a cruel tyrant who would impale anybody who tried to cross him, leave their corpses on the pike and place it in front of his castle. He would also impale anybody who came to him complaining of the smell, then place their corpse higher than the others so they could bask in the stench for eternity. Legends also say that his castle disappeared with his death at the hands of his former friend, Leon; and has both appeared and disappeared throughout history, leading many to believe in his frequent resurrection."

Kazumi was the first to speak. "Wow, Miyazaki-san! That's amazing! How do you remember all that?" Nodoka blushed just slightly and responded politely. "It's nothing, really. I _do_ work in the library after all…Oh?" Asuna had fallen into what appeared to be a trance. "Um…Asuna-san? Are you alright? Asuna-san?" Nodoka gently waved a hand in front of Asuna's face, to no avail.

_1062? Can this really be the same man? Maybe it's only somebody using the name… How? How could he be alive? Eva herself said that it was impossible to raise the dead…So does that mean that he really is a vampire? This is bad…_ The more she thought about it, the more likely it seemed. No mere human could have an aura of such evil. He had to be the real thing… "Hey…Nodoka-chan…" Nodoka jumped at the sudden change in Asuna's silence. "Yes, Asuna-san?" Asuna looked at her seriously. "Do you believe the legends surrounding him?"

"Do I…Well, I don't think that even magic can raise the dead; but if I'd be lying if I said that it I didn't think that he was a vampire, so he might still be alive. You really think it's him?" Asuna nodded. "It has to be. There are just too many coincidences. But what would bring him here? God damn, why is everything happening now?" Asuna dropped her sword and cradled her head. "Asuna-san, what's wrong?" Nodoka placed a comforting hand on the girl's shoulder while still trying to balance the stack of books. She couldn't handle the stack with only one hand and the pile fell, causing her to huff in mild frustration. "Don't worry about her, Miyazaki-san. Ayaka made a confession of love. Add that on top of being mortally wounded only yesterday and everything happening today, she's just having difficulties handling the pressure. Just like how Negi-sensei had a breakdown when you confessed. Hey, while I'm here…" Kazumi turned her head to the left in hesitation.

"Do you need help with something, Asakura-san?" Nodoka squatted down as she tried to gather up her fallen books. "Well…It's not so much that I need much help with something as it is I have a question." Nodoka stopped picking up her books momentarily. "Sure. What is it?"

"Well…I was wondering if you'd like to go to dinner with me tonight. Alone, y'know?" Nodoka's face turned bright red immediately and she dropped what few books she had gathered. "I-I…No, wait…What? Asakura-san, I-I couldn't possibly…I mean, you just said it yourself that I'm…" A sudden look came over her face as if she had been struck by lightning and her eyes momentarily glazed over. Her face gradually returned to its normal pale color as she quickly calmed down. "What I mean to say is: I'd be delighted, Asakura-san." She gave Kazumi a room-lighting smile. Kazumi's eyes lit up at this, but also found something amiss. Asuna noticed this as well. "Hey, Asuna-san…Is it just me, or was that odd?" This was said so that Nodoka couldn't hear.

"No, you're right. That was definitely strange. It's almost as if something kicked in and made her change her answer. Do you remember anything like that happening to you?" Kazumi thought for a second. "Uhh…No. I really don't remember any sudden change like that. For me, it was just more of me realizing that she's pretty. I don't know if what just happened here happened to me as well." Asuna cursed her luck. "Great. Just great." She glanced at the clock on the wall. Only an hour left until that man Ţepeş made his move. "Alright, look. You two, leave campus. Grab anyone else you pass and leave the campus. Whoever this man is, he's going to destroy this place in an hour if I don't agree to help him. Of course, I'm not going to."

"Running is no use…"

Asuna and Kazumi turned to Nodoka, who spoke as if she knew what was going on. The iris of her eyes had turned white while the whites had faded to black. "She's possessed!" Kazumi exclaimed.

"Possessed? Do you truly think that I would stoop to such levels as to inhabit the body of a human, girl? She is nothing more than my puppet, dancing on my strings…Even if you run; I will hunt you all down. Every last one of you. Of course, you will all die; regardless of whether or not the princess helps me. I'll just kill you all last, let you watch as the world you try to protect burns. Let you feel what it is to not be able to protect that which you fought so hard for, what it feels like for all of your efforts to be meaningless."

"You're a monster, Cronqvist!" Asuna knelt on the ground, clutching her sword once more. Fury burned in her eyes. "Cronqvist? Well, now…There's a name I haven't heard in years; but it means nothing to me, now. It is nothing more than a reminder of my worthless once-mortality. You have an hour left to decide, princess, or should I just eliminate this school now? I do believe that you said that you were not going to aid me." With that, Nodoka's eyes returned to their normal colors. "Uwahh…What just happened? I remember Kazumi asking me to dinner, my rejection followed by a change of heart, then…nothing…" Asuna resealed her sword and straightened up. "Damn it…He's leaving us no choice but to fight him. Do either of you know where Negi is? There's no way in Hell that we can do anything without him."

"Last I heard," quipped Kazumi, "There was an assembly for a few of the teachers early this morning. I suppose that it'd be for the magicians and about this. Where he is now, though, I couldn't say. Didn't he tell you this morning?"

"No. He left before I got back from my paper route. His stuff was there, though, so it's not like he up and vanished completely." Kazumi stood there and thought for a minute, scratching her head. "Huh…Sorry. I can't tell you. Maybe Sayo-chan could find him, if I asked."

"Well, why don't you?"

"It's not like we're joined at the hip, Asuna-san. I'd have to find her first, and I don't think we have the time right now." Dammit. She was right. "Hey, why doesn't one of us just use our pactio card to get a hold of him?" Asuna took a few seconds to explain that didn't work when she tried, during which the lights inside flickered unevenly. Nobody paid any attention to this. That is, until the power shut off completely following a loud crack of thunder and Nodoka's squeal. "Scratch that, Kazumi. We have no time." Asuna slowly began to feel her way around the bookshelves as she ordered Kazumi and Nodoka to take cover. Not five steps out did Asuna trip over one of the many books that Nodoka had dropped the second time around. She violently hit her head on the bookshelf as she fell, which lead her to a vigorous stream of swears.

"God damn mother-fucking son-of-a-bitch WHORE!" She cradled her head tightly while tears of pain welled up in her eyes. As she was on her knees, the floor noticeably shook. "Well, well, well…Our little princess has quite the mouth on 'er. Dunno why the boss-man wants ya so badly, but I gotta do my job." The voice was far too deep and raspy to be human. Clearly an ogre. The quick burst of light as Asuna summoned her _Ensis exorcizans_ yet again showed Asuna exactly where the Raven stood. She swung her sword with all her might; but for the first time since she could remember, a simple ogre caught her blade. "Now, now, girlie…This is far too dangerous for you to be playin' wit'. Ya might hurt yerself." It pulled Asuna towards itself with a quick yank on the sword; where it knocked her unconscious and discarded the blade.

"Huh…Guess the boss-man wasn't lyin' when 'e said it'd give me strength. No way in Hell that gal shoulda gone down so easy…" The floorboards underneath it creaked as it shifted it weight to accommodate Asuna being slung over his shoulder. He turned towards Nodoka and Kazumi, who had hidden on either side of a table not five feet away. "Hey, you two…Ya best be gettin' outta here. Shit's gonna be goin' down. I got no quarrel wit' ya, so I won' stop ya iff'n ya wanna." The beast walked off, it's footsteps shaking dust and dirt from the ceiling as they faded away.

xXxXx

"Here's the girl, boss-man. Jes' like I promised. I can keep this gem, right?" The Raven reached into the folds of one of its tattered garments and produced a small, black, onyx-like gemstone that glimmered, even in the dim room. "Of course. Keep it as a reward for your services. I'm sure that you will find another use for the power it grants the one who holds it. Now, begone." Count Ţepeş waved his hand, granting the ogre leave. "My minions shall handle the rest." The room suddenly light up (as it had periodically been doing) as magic and dark forces clashed outside. "Wake, girl." With another wave of his hand, the fluid swipe a hypnotist would make, Asuna stirred as commanded.

"Wh…Where am I? What happened?" She felt a strong resistance as she attempted to move. Her arms were over her head and she couldn't feel the ground. Was she being suspended from something? "Your efforts shall avail you nothing, Princess. You are bound in the air by my magic, and I modified an amulet that an old acquaintance of mine crafted. Instead of amplifying your powers, it absorbs your powers. You remember this trinket, yes?" Of course she did. That perverted demon who called himself 'Graf Herrman' tried to use an amulet like that to force her into canceling all magic. "Why do you want my powers so badly, Cronqvist? What could you possibly stand to gain?" His heartless laughter made her blood run cold. "You ask why, my dear? It is simple. I need your powers to become truly immortal. You doubtlessly looked into me after hearing my name, so you must know what I am. While I may never age, I _can_ be killed. I can use your powers to make myself truly immortal and then I can burn this world to ash."

"So you really are a vampire? Huh…Guess I shouldn't be too surprised. You're not the first one I've met." Asuna spat on the floor in front of him. "I'm not impressed. Your kind…" her words were shoved back down her throat as the back of his fist made sharp contact with the side of her mouth. "How _dare_ you, human. You _dare_ look down at me?" Asuna felt blood gently drip from her open mouth. "Tell me…What do you hope to gain from this…? Will this bring back your wife? Do you truly think that killing everybody will bring her back?" She felt him grab the collar of her shirt as he lifted her further into the air. The hold that bound her hands above her shifted so that her hands were now bound behind her back. "A lowly human such as you could never understand. You are correct in that Elisabetha is why I am what I am today, but are mistaken in why you all must die. She was stricken with illness while I was away. You humans are nothing more that secrets, hatred, and lies. I do this because your kind crucified the mother of my son for no more reason than the assumption of witchcraft. You all robbed me of any chance I might reclaim happiness, so I shall rob all of you of yours." He tossed her to the side like a ragdoll, where the binds once again lifted her up. He then drew his sword, a European longsword, which glistened beautifully in what light poured in from outside. "Now, princess…I believe your usefulness has about come to its end."

What happened next seemed like a blur. As Ţepeş lunged toward her for the kill, a flurry of knives flew past Asuna's head and forced him to the side. This is where Setsuna forced him to block her blade. "Are you alright, Asuna? Has he hurt you?" Asuna told her that she was fine, but was unable to move. Asuna could barely follow the sword duel taking place in the room because of the constant changes in the lighting, but she could tell that Setsuna was now on the defensive. _Damn it. I wish I could do something! Anything!_ She was helpless to watch as her friend was impaled on the deadly-sharp blade held by the monster before her. "Foolish girl. Did you really believe that you could beat me? You tailed the ogre I got to bring this girl here and I allowed you to stay and listen. Now you have the audacity to lash out at me?" He smoothly flipped his sword from a forehand position to a backhand and held it over Setsuna's throat. "You brazen attitude shall get you naught but death, young Raven."

"Stop! She has nothing to do with this!" Asuna fought against her invisible restraints as she tried to intervene, all to no avail. He rested the tip of his sword against Setsuna's throat and glared coldly at her. "Do you have any last words, girl?" Setsuna was beyond words at the moment and could only throw him a hostile glare and mouth a curse to him. "None, then? Just as well, I suppose. Your duty to protect your beloved Konoe ends here. Fret not. You will soon be rejoined." Setsuna's eyes burned with rage, yet she was unable to do anything other than clutch her gaping wound. "Damn…you. If you…_touch _her…I'll…"

"You'll what? Kill me? You have neither the skill nor the power, and you will soon be dead. You can't stop me." He thrust his sword downward just as it was blasted from his hand. He turned and barely raised his hand in time to block a burst of lightning, which shattered into several fragments and destroyed the wall behind him. The dust filled the room quickly, causing both Asuna and Setsuna to cough uncontrollably. Asuna felt an arm wrap around her waist as she was forcibly yanked towards the now-open wall. She also felt the restraints hold her back momentarily before what felt like breaking. Once they were well clear of what she now saw was a back room of the library, Asuna's vision started adjusting to the low light outside. Looking up, the sky had given way to a solid wall of dark, ominous clouds that blocked out almost all of the sunlight. She turned her head, but was unable to see the face of her rescuer. She really didn't need to, though. She knew who it was. She didn't even need to look off to her left, where Kotarô was running with Setsuna across his shoulders.

"Damn, Negi. It took you long enough. Where the Hell have you been?" Her arms hung limply as she, herself, was draped over his shoulder, no longer bound by whatever magic sealed them. "Sorry, Asuna-san. We ran into some trouble on the way." Odd. There weren't any signs of fighting going on around here anymore…What trouble could he mean? "You seem to be lost in thought, girl." Asuna felt her hair being pulled violently as she was pulled one direction while Negi was pushed another, his staff skidding across the courtyard and well out of reach. Kotarô whipped around and laid Setsuna on the ground before looking up. "That was terribly rude of you boys…" In one fluid motion, Ţepeş flipped Asuna into the air and caught her around her waist. "My business had not yet ended with this girl." He drew his sword from its scabbard and pointed it at them. "Do you wish to fight me? We have all the space needed to meet your request." Of course. He deliberately led them here. "Do the two of you truly believe that children such as you could defeat me? Do you know who I am?" The hot-headed Kotarô lunged forward first, only to be smacked off to the side and through the wall of the nearest building. Ţepeş dropped Asuna and assumed a real fighting stance. "Come, then. Let us see what you can do, young sorcerer." Negi pulled his own arms in to assume his own fighting stance.

Ţepeş vanished into a column of black light, which vanished itself and reappeared behind Negi. Ţepeş threw open his cloak and several fireballs were hurled from beneath its folds. Negi leapt over the flames only to be met in the air and thrown to the ground. He rolled out of the way as Ţepeş' sword ripped the stone from the earth. "You are quite nimble for such a young child, but you are far lacking in power." Kotarô appeared in the air behind Ţepeş and thrust his sharpened fist into the man. He hesitated when he failed to break the skin. Ţepeş wheeled around brought his sword across Kotarô's chest, cutting deep and drawing a nauseating amount of blood. Asuna struggled to stand and reach for her _pactio_ card, stopping when she realized she didn't have it and not knowing how the ogre had discarded it back in the library. She swore.

"Come, now, children. You two showed much promise before. What happened?" Negi crawled to his feet and began incanting a double spell. He crushed the end result into his fists, finishing the dual _complexio_. The resulting surge in power shredded any bit of clothing on his upper torso. "Oh, so you do have more to demonstrate. Very well, boy. Hold nothing back, or you shall die here." Negi's first strike was sidestepped, and Ţepeş retreated well out of striking range for the second. "I see this grants you much speed and power, child; but…" Negi vanished and Ţepeş lunged forward as he intercepted Negi, grabbed him by the throat, and slammed him into the ground. "You are still far too slow to be any threat to me." Negi clawed at the hand of his captor as he struggled to breathe. "Give up hope, boy. You cannot win against one such as I. Your friend is as good as dead, do you truly think that you could fare better?" A single bolt of ice struck him in the shoulder, knocking him off of Negi. He quickly regained his balance and stood upright.

"Really. Is picking on children not below you? I don't take kindly to anybody who would try and kill my pupil." Ţepeş raised his sword and skillfully parried Eva's magic blade. "Ah, my dear Evangeline. How long has it been? A century at least." Eva pushed him back. "I wish it could've been longer. How many times must you die before you stay dead?" Her glare chilled Asuna to the bone, even if she couldn't see it in full. "Eva, is that any way to talk to your uncle?" Eva laughed. "My uncle? How laughable. Just because you married my aunt does not mean I have to accept you as my uncle." She raised the blade that surged from her hand, preparing to fight. "This time, Dracula, I'll make sure you stay dead." This did not escape Asuna's ears.

"Eva, did you say 'Dracula?' As in, the infamous Vampire Lord Dracula?" Of course she was. It all fit together now. Everything made sense! His inhumanly evil aura, his soulless glare, even how he could shatter her indomitable will by simple eye contact! "Wait…He's your uncle!" No wonder Eva was as rotten as she used to be. The big question right now was why she hated him so much. "As much as I hate to admit it, yes…I am related to the fiend Dracula. He married my aunt Lisa and is the one who turned me into a vampire."

"Did you not think it important to tell us this? That he might come here someday?" Negi was crawling to his feet, still hacking; as he spoke. "Does it really matter now, Asuna-san? He's here." Koatrô had also managed to crawl to his feet and staggered over to join the other two. "Just sit back, Anesan. We'll take care of this." He spat out a lot of blood, with even more gushing down his torso. A devious grin parted his lips. "Been a while since we've had a good fight on our hands; eh, Negi? Think we should pull all the plugs?" Dracula politely stood there as they rattled on and on. "Have you all finished, yet?" He sighed. "Young Evangeline…Why side yourself with these mortals? How could you have turned against us?"

"I turn against no one, Dracula. You are the one who have turned your back. You seek to eradicate humans, but I was born a human. I may not be a hero, but I damn well can't let you destroy my birthright; let alone my ticket out of this hellhole!" She indicated to Negi. "His damned father trapped me here, and he's my only way out of here permanently."

"Then what if I were to spare that child alone? Would you then return to us?" Eva rushed him and knocked his sword from his hand. "Not even I would give myself completely to the darkness. You have lost yourself, uncle." Dracula's fist met hard with Evangeline's stomach as he knocked her on her back. She was on her feet in no time. "As have you, niece. It would seem that your choice is made. If you wish to stand with the humans, then you shall die with them." He vanished again in a pillar of light, grabbing Eva while hurling fire at Negi and Kotarô. Negi dodged left while Kotarô leapt over them, both rushing Dracula. He brought his foot into Negi's crest and threw Eva into Kotarô. He leapt back and grabbed his sword before dashing towards Negi, forcing him to summon his magic blade and fight hand-to-hand alone while Eva and Kotarô burned precious seconds untangling themselves.

Asuna could only watch and wish she had her weapon as she saw her friends being mercilessly beaten by one man. "Why…Once again, I'm forced to watch helplessly. I need to help them!" She felt a tugging on her skirt. "Don't get your panties in a bunch. The Mistress had me get you this." Chachazero let out a small grunt as she tried to lift the hilt of Asuna's _Ensis exocizans_ high enough for Asuna to reach it. "Chachazero…How did you know that I didn't have my sword?"

"C'mon! Mistress Eva told me that it was in the library. She's been watching you ever since you broke down in class today." Asuna took her blade gratefully from the puppet, glad to have the familiar weight back in her hands. "Thanks, Chachazero. Now, If you'll excuse me." Asuna moved faster than she could remember ever having moved before, felt lighter than ever. However, she still wasn't fast enough. Dracula knocked Negi off balance and caught Asuna's blade. He sighed. "I had hoped to avoid killing you just yet" He viciously punched her, knocking her through the air. Asuna flipped acrobatically and landed on her feet, lunging once again at the Vampire Lord. _Whoa…It's like I'm floating through the air!_ This was no time to be questioning whatever was happening. He parried her strike with difficulty. Her heavy swings caused the grinding metal to spark after each hit.

"Tch. Learn your place, girl!" He parried her strike once again and grabbed her wrist, thrusting his elbow into her face. "And you yours, Dracula!" Eva and Negi stood shoulder to shoulder, incanting similar spells: Negi's "Storm of the South Seas" and Evangeline's "Blizzard of Darkness."

"_Jovis tempestas!_"

"_Nivis tempestas obscurans!"_

The spells roared forth from the magicians and tore up the flagstone beneath as they quickly closed the gap between them and Dracula. He laughed as the walls of magic hit him head on. "Fantastic, my niece! To think you've come so far in your power!" The spells vanished in a swirl of magic as Dracula split them with a swing of his sword. "It's hard to believe that I failed to see the similarities before now. Your fighting styles, your power, the way you cast your spell. Now that I look closer, I can even see some resemblance. Dear Evangeline, why did you never tell me that you had a son?"


	3. Blood, Sweat, and Tears

**CHAPTER 3**

"What?" The response was unanimous. Even Setsuna, who was struggling to crawl to her feet without worsening her injury, was taken aback momentarily before she coughed up a pool of blood. "What did you say?" Dracula grabbed either side of Negi's face and gently tilted his head back and forth, examining the child. He inhaled deeply through his nose. "Ahh, yes…The boy has the blood of my niece flowing through his veins, there is no doubt, though he has clearly inherited more of his father's looks." Asuna swung her sword and passed right through him as though he were mist. "You're a terrible liar, Dracula. We already know that the Magical World's late Princess Arika is Negi's mother!" She swung again, to the same results. "Your sister? Unlikely. I do not smell a drop of royal blood in the boy that is not darkened with our touch." Again and again she tried to cut through him, but it seemed that he had become no more than a spirit. "Quit trying to confuse us. You're a terrible at lying. We can see right through them! You can't-"

"Enough, Kagurazaka…He…He's not lying…" Evangeline's eyes dropped to the ground and her arms to her side, as though she were ashamed. "Nagi named Arika Negi's godmother; so being what I am, I gave the two of them custody. I'm a vampire, Asuna; and I can't very well raise a child in the first place, let alone while I'm bound at this school, can I? Everything after that you already know…" Eva actually sounded sad as she recalled the tale. "I've done lots of things in my time, but that is my only regret…Not being able to be there for my own son." For the first time since Asuna had met her, Evangeline's stony composure was broken. In fact, she looked as if she were about to cry when she turned to Negi. "I know I can't ask you to forgive me…And believe me when I say that this isn't how I wanted you to find out…" Dracula interjected at this point. "Is this the time to be explaining things to this child, Evangeline?" His voice seemed to snap them all out of the dizzying spell. Eva's bloodthirsty look came back over her face. "I'll do what I damn well please. You're the one who let it out, so I might as well tell my end of the story."

"Very well; but I grow bored, so I'll give you a choice." With a wave of his hand more of his scantily-clad minions seemed to materialize from a black haze, each clutching a hostage that could not be identified through the haze. "Since you all seem so disinterested, I decided to raise the stakes. I sent my minions to fetch the people I have deemed to be closest to the four I had anticipated fighting." He reached into the fog and grabbed the closest hostage and pulled her from the haze. Though she was a mess, Konoka appeared to be fairly unharmed. Her voice was weak and she appeared to be fighting to stay conscious. "Asuna…Secchan…Don't worry about…me…" Her hair flopped over her face as she blacked out whether he put her to sleep or she just fainted was unknown. He returned her to his succubus pawn as he reached in again. "Imaging my elation when I see the pain in your eyes as your lovers die one by one." He pulled Ayaka out this time by the back of her neck and held her out to Asuna as though she were nothing more than a ragdoll. She was conscious, but delirious. "If you cannot defeat me, Princess, then they will die. You understand, no?" Asuna felt the anger boil up within her, both her how low he would sink in taking hostages and at how he had taken Ayaka.

Ayaka's eyes seemed to focus in Asuna's general direction, like she knew somebody was there but she couldn't tell who. "Asu…na…?" A wicked grin tugged at the corners of Dracula's mouth when he saw Asuna's stance slacken. "What's the matter, young Kagurazaka? You've been the most hot-headed of the bunch…Are you unhappy with this turn of events?" His gaze lightly traipsed across her as she lowered her sword. "Dracula…Evangeline was right. You are the lowest of the low. Taking young girls hostage…I thought you vampires prided yourself on honor?" The cobblestone beneath her was stripped away in an instant as she triggered her _Kankahō_ without having to focus the magic and chi in her hands. The sudden surge of power caused the immediate air to whip up a hurricane around her as the aura around her grew dark with anger. The vampire lord returned his hostage to the mist just before it vanished. "So this is the power I sought after…Magnificent! I had not thought that you would progress so quickly, to be able to call forth your powers without any signs or incantations! This is exactly what I've so long sought!" His manic laughter echoed as the winds around Asuna died down and her aura faded. Without taking her eyes off of Dracula, Asuna slightly tilted her head to Evangeline and Negi. "Are you guys ready for round two?" Negi wiped a spot of blood from the corner of his mouth and nodded while Evangeline remained silent. "Kotarô-kun, take Setsuna and leave. The two of you will be killed if you stay here." Being the honorable person he was, Kotarô hesitated before reluctantly obliging. "You'd damn well better come back alright, Asuna-anesan. I won't be able to live with myself if a girl died when I could've saved her." With those words, he grabbed Setsuna and took off as fast as his injury would allow.

Dracula's laughter finally subsided. "So you believe that you can defeat me by _decreasing_ you numbers? Ha. Such is the arrogance of humans." He vanished into his pillar of light once more, but Asuna and Evangeline were able to track him and intercepted him when he reemerged. Evangeline's magic blade forced him to cancel his fireball attack while he was driven back by parrying Asuna's sword strike. Before the two could come to a halt, Negi's shundō brought him between the two as his magic-backed, open-palm strike knocked Dracula off of his feet. He caught his fall with his free hand and vaulted himself to his feet without breaking his momentum. Eva struck him from behind, but was only able to scrape his shoulder as he dodged. He wheeled about and rammed his elbow into Eva's midsection, causing her to collapse. He parried Asuna's sword so that she was thrown off-balance, where he brought his knee into her stomach and his elbow into her back. She grunted in pain and landed on top of Evangeline. He turned menacingly to Negi. "I hope you also inherited your father's sense of reason, child. I am not taken to killing my own kind. Lend your power to my cause. Help me extinguish the human race."

"Why would I ever want to do that? Regardless of whether or not what you say is true, my family is human! What would make you think I would ever turn my back on my own people?" Dracula knelt down to Negi's level and extended an open hand, waiting for Negi to take it. "However this battle turns out, child, you will have turned your back one of your people. Choosing to not believe me will make you no less of a dhampir, so take my hand and lend your tremendous power to the stronger race. Help me re-forge this world; completely free of human lies and hate. Together, we can fix the world." Negi looked at Dracula's hand. The skin was completely white, drained of all color; as though it belonged to a corpse long since deceased. His fingernails were elongated and filed down to a point. Negi lifted his gaze from Dracula's hand to his face. He was trying to wear a softened, caring face; but it was clear that he was forcing it. It looked more like a grimace. "A world like that would be nice…" Asuna sat on her knees hunched over, trying to steady her breathing. "Negi…Don't…Don't lis…ten…to him…" Her voice was weak, and she doubted that he could hear her. Eva remained silent, watching the scene unfold as she lay upon the ground. "…But what you're doing is wrong. Extermination is not the way to fix things. It only makes you as bad as the people you want to get rid of."

Dracula's hand curled slightly as he retracted it. His forced kind expression withered away. "I suppose that you believe there is another way? You believe that changing people one at a time will make a difference? No…Humanity will not change. Humans have remained the same for centuries, and they will remain so for centuries more." He stood and walked past Negi. "I still do not wish to kill one of darkened blood. If you will not join me, then stay out of my way." The two of them turned to face each other. "I can't do that, either. I cannot stand by and watch while you wrongly murder people. Sis raised me better than that." Dracula sighed. "So be it." For a split second, there were two Dracula. The true Dracula's spaded hand ascended quickly towards Negi's midsection as the afterimage faded out. Everything seemed to go in slow-motion. Negi felt a hand on his shoulder as the whole world began to shift; and before he could completely contemplate what had happened, he found himself on the ground covered in blood. Evangeline had shoved Negi out of the way and taken the hit herself. Since the first time that he had shown his face, Dracula's stone cold expression at last was sincerely shattered by surprise. "What?"

Eva's hands were wrapped tightly around Dracula's arm, holding him in place inside of her. She coughed blood all over his arm, completely ruining his perfectly clean aristocratic coat. She looked up at him as her eyes shifted between their usual golden-brown to a vibrant red, the same as Dracula's. "I couldn't do a thing when you murdered my parents, Dracula…But I won't let you touch my son, not while I'm still breathing." She raised her right hand, index and middle fingers extended to the sky. She swung them down towards Dracula as she finished the spell she had been inciting. "…_Κενοτητοζ_…_δετεμεω_…_ΔΙΟΣΤΥΚΕ_." The two of them lit up as a burst of lightning was dropped from the heavens. His screams of anguish chilled Negi and Asuna to the bone, though they could hear Eva inciting another spell through the cries. As the dust settled, they could see the outlines of two figures, Dracula on his knees and Evangeline palming his face while chanting. "For all your crimes, you die here. _Nivis tempestas obscurans_." The ensuing blast sprayed to the side, destroying anything within twenty feet of the two as the brunt of it was absorbed by Dracula.

The blast subsided, but Dracula was still standing; albeit he was missing a good portion of his body. Blood poured from his mangled body, and yet he laughed like a madman. Evangeline collapsed as her body began to regenerate. "Excellent, Evangeline! Just Excellent! I had not expected you to have grown so powerful, yet here I am proven wrong. I would have never thought that _you_ would take a mortal blow in an attempt to save someone!" He clasped his face in his hand and leaned back laughing. He remained like that for a minute before the laughter stopped as if a switch had been flipped. The air around him was growing dark as his rage became apparent. "You insolent little witch! You would _dare_ to use the power that I so willingly granted you to strike out at me?" What appeared to be streams of shadow wove in and out of his body like tread through cloth, weaving back together the disintegrated portion of his body. "So you chose to follow my son. How sad." Three sets of wings that seemed to be made of a mixture of blood and unholy powers exploded from his back and he lifted into the air. "I shall hold back no longer. Pray to your gods, for ere you die." He opened his palm towards the ground and a bolt of blood-red energy rocketed forward and blew a huge chunk of ground skyward from where Asuna had been standing.

As soon as Asuna's foot hit the ground, she pushed off towards Dracula and drew her blade back and prepared a strike. He held out his hand as energy began to swarm around it. He closed his hand and the energy solidified into a spear, which he threw towards Asuna like a javelin. Unable to change her trajectory, the spear tore right through Asuna's shoulder and pinned her back onto the ground. She grabbed the spear and snapped it, freeing herself. "Not yet, girl. There's so much more!" He raised his hand to the sky and swung it downwards to point at her, raining a hail of spears at her. She raised her blade and used it as a shield to protect as much of her as she could, but was unable to block them all. Spear after spear tore through what wasn't hidden behind the massive sword. "Negi! Stop standing there and do something about this, dammit!" Another of those bolts struck her sword, pushing her back slightly before another spear punctured her foot and pinned her in place. Negi took a different route than Asuna and used his shundō to circle around behind the monster. Dracula met his lightning-packed fist with another of his hand-held spears, impaling the young boy.

"Stay out of this, boy. I am way out of your league. You cannot possibly-" Without warning, he dropped the spear and let Negi fall to the ground as he turned to catch the large black blur that knocked him from his aerial domain. "Really, Negi-bozū? It's not like you to be having so much trouble." Negi, pinned face-first on the ground by the spear, tried to turn his head to speak. A foot was placed on the back of his head while someone pulled the spear out of him. "What problem, Negi-kun? You no that weak." Kū twirled the spear around before tucking it under her arm. Kaede was also there; ready to join the fight as well. Evangeline, who was back on her feet and healed now, grabbed him by the neck and dragged him to his feet. Asuna pulled the spears from her body and half-staggered over to the rest of them. "It's about damn time, you guys. Where the hell have you been?"

"Sorry, Asuna-san. This is the only area where demons aren't crawling all over the place." The whole time Kaede explained their lateness, she not once took her eyes off of the vampire lord. "I suppose it's only natural for maggots to swarm around death. Are you finished?" He lifted Kaede's oversized shuriken and swung it at them as if it were nothing. "It was foolish of you to leave this in my hands." Her swung it back and forth at them as though it were his own sword. Not even Eva and Negi's magic blade could withstand the crushing blows. Only Asuna's sword was durable enough. She blocked the strike, holding her sword at such an angle that the shuriken was deflected into the ground. Kaede took advantage of the opening and hurled a kunai, which Dracula caught and returned to her; then wheeled around while forging another spear and blocked Negi and Eva's blades, throwing the two of them to the side. Kū successfully managed to land a hit, but he grabbed her arm as he fell and flipped her over his shoulder.

"Why do you insist on fighting?" He picked himself off the ground as though Kū's strike was nothing, but he was encompassed by the children. "You possess neither of the weapons capable of causing me any real harm, and the only three who don't need them don't have the power. You do not stand a chance against me. What is it that drives you humans to fight the inevitable? You fight; and resist; and in the end, you die. It is that simple. Why do you insist on ending your lives so prematurely?" He took the shuriken in both of his hands and crushed it without so much as breaking eye contact with Negi. "Answer me." It was a difficult question, without a doubt. Negi wasn't sure just how to answer it. "Well…I don't know why we fight. I guess the most primal reason is because it's not our nature to lie down and die. But that's not why I fight."

"Ahh, yes. You fight for revenge, no? You fight all because somebody had your village torched while you were naught but a toddler…Revenge is good. A feeling so full of resentment that will always bring you to become a murderer. Can you still say that we are so different?" He was right. They had the same motivation to fight. Were they really so…No. They couldn't be. "That…That's not true! I'm nothing like you!" It had to be a lie. "You are not? Then tell me…When you find the one responsible for that night, what do you plan to do? Would you let the one who petrified all the townsfolk and destroyed your home live? Then to what purpose would your efforts be?" Sweat began to gradually drip down the back of Negi's neck. What was he going to do? Would he…Would he really take the person's life? "Shut up!" Asuna couldn't stand by and listen to this any more. "Who the Hell do you think you are, trying to analyze Negi like that? He's not like you, he's not a monster!" Negi raised his hand to silence her. "Asuna-san…He…He's right. I'm no different than he is."

"Negi…no…" She could hear the combination of fear and sorrow in his voice, and it made her upset as well. "It's true, Asuna…After everything I've gone through…When I find who I'm looking for, a slap on the wrist isn't enough…I'll have to…have…to…" Kill. "I didn't want to believe it…I'd hoped that there was another way, but…He paints it out. There is no other option. I can't move forward without dealing with my past, and I can't put those ghosts to rest until my goal is accomplished."

"Indeed, young Negi. Down the path you tread, there is no escaping it. So why not join me? Your goal will be accomplished alongside of my own!" Eva tugged on Asuna's pigtail and brought her ear down to whispering level. "We need to shut him up." She sounded urgent. That couldn't mean anything good. "What do you mean, Eva? Why? We might be able to figure out how to stop him if he keeps going."

"Yes…But I doubt we'd be able to stop Negi. You remember how he went berserk when that Herrman guy was here? That's not even half of what will happen if Dracula's provokings bring out Negi's lineage. We need to find some way to distract him NOW." That was much easier said than done. "I don't know if you've noticed or not, but he's not the type of guys who's easily distracted, Eva!" _Just how am I gonna do this, anyways?_ _No matter what we do, he's always one step ahead of us._ "Where are my manners? Here I am giving the very monologues that I had asked you to refrain from. This is your last chance, Negi Springfield. Will you join me, or will you fight your fate with lesser beings?" Negi closed his eyes, thinking. "Negi, don't you even think about it. I will not let you-"

"I won't…" He sounded off as her interrupted Asuna. Not quite different, but something wasn't right. The wind around them began to pick up furiously. "I'll never join you!" With a quick sweep of his hand, Negi sent a razor gale tear across the gap between them. Dracula split it with his hand, but received severe cuts in the process. The winds were whipping furiously around Negi's hand so much that they could almost be seen. "So you can harm me after all. I will admit that I am surprised." The two of them vanished into thin air, one after the other. "What? Where'd they go to?" Asuna lifted her sword, getting ready in case Dracula tried to pull something. "They didn't go anywhere, Asuna-san. They're still here, I can feel them."

"They're moving at superhuman speeds, you two." Eva was clearly watching something that the others couldn't see. "We vampires are not human, so our abilities are different. Normally, we can move about twice the speed of humans and are about ten times stronger; but those two are in a trance-like state of bloodlust. There's nothing you can do now, without getting ripped apart in the process."

Dracula's claws tore at Negi's face, leaving deep gash marks across it. Negi grabbed his arm and pulled the man into his extending elbow and then hit him with an open-palm strike to the chin. Dracula whirled around and launched a barrage of spears at the child, who countered with spears of wind magic. The spear cancelled each other out and the two had each other's hands gripped tightly, trying to over-power the other. "You are quite skilled for such a young boy. It's a shame that your struggles will amount to nothing!" He shifted his weight backwards and threw Negi over himself and launched another of his explosive projectiles at the vulnerable boy. Negi launched a barrage of lightning at the bolt, and used his wind to 'leap' over the bolt. He rained down bolts of electricity on the vampire. Dracula vanished in black wisps and grabbed Negi by the wrist and wrench his arm backwards, nearly ripping it out of the socket. Negi flipped himself around so that his arm was forward and his feet were wrapped around Dracula's neck, when he yanked his legs back down and hurled Dracula into the ground. "Well done, child; but I believe that it is time to stop playing around, don't you? The tips of his largest wings seemed to shift as they lashed out like his bloody spears. Negi was forced to allow one to pierce his left hand to avoid them.

"I have you now, boy!" Dracula grabbed a spear and prepared to deal the final blow. All his attention was focused on Negi, so that he didn't see Asuna and Kaede come in from the sides. Kaede grabbed the spear and pulled it off to the side while Asuna swung her sword up and to the left, tearing through Dracula and sending a spray of blood everywhere. "You lost your focus, _Count_." Evangeline appeared in wisps of shadows and swung a magic sword straight down, piercing Dracula yet again. The vampire lord staggered backwards, bleeding heavily. Kū slipped in behind him and drove a fist hard into his back to knock him off of his feet and caused him to land face-first on the cobblestone, unmoving. The manifested wings dissolved into the air.

"Did…Did we finally get him?" This wasn't right. After all the trouble that they had gone through up until now, there's no way that he could have gone down that easily. "I doubt it." Negi's hand was engulfed in the white light of the healing spell of Konoka's artifact. His wounds healed quickly and he returned the card to his own artifact. "Well, well. You actually did me harm." Dracula gently floated into the air and landed on his feet. "Very well. You have performed admirably, so I shall show you all something that only one before has ever lived to tell of." He raised his hands to the sky and was engulfed in a pillar of emptiness. There was nothing but a black shroud around him as the skies took a turn for the worst. Lightning struck the campus furiously as tornado after tornado began to descend around them. The skies directly above Dracula began to swirl into a vortex into oblivion. "Eva!" Asuna had to shout at the top of her lungs to be heard over the storm, but even then it was hard to hear. "What the hell is this! What's going on!" The ground shook furiously as huge chunks of stone and dirt were ripped violently from the earth and floated upwards toward the vortex. Dracula's voice was thick and boomed well over the storm. It seemed to grow deeper as he spoke. "Darkness beyond the eternal abyss, Evil beyond the gates of Hell! Grant me power!"

**_TREMBLE BEFORE MY TRUE FORM!_**

Everything went black for an instant, and both the column and Dracula were gone. "Where he go? This no can be good…" Asuna held her sword at the ready, waiting for anything that might happen. "Eva! What the Hell is going on? Where did he go?" The others were looking around frantically. After pulling what he just had, there's no way he'd run. He wasn't that kind of guy.

**_I am right here, child._**

In a shower of debris, a large monster tore through the library and smashed the back of its hand it Kū, sending her reeling across the campus with nothing being able to stop her. It looked like a mutated cross between a bat and a human. Tattered wings crossed the gap from its wrists to its wait, its legs appeared broken, and it was a sickly green color. It fangs alone were bigger than Asuna. "**_Thou shalt burn in the flames of Hell, impudent fools!_**" It opened its mouth wide and spat out countless wads of flaming mucus that splattered all over the ground. Some of the splash back landed on Kaede's uniform, igniting it instantly. "Evangeline! What the hell _is_ that thing?"

"Does it really fucking matter?" She dodged to the left as its fist occupied the air where she had stood. A barrage of ice arrows struck the thing's hand and didn't even leave a scratch. "**_Thy attempts are futile, Evangeline. Thy power can't even begin to compare to mine!_**" The thing leapt up into the air and shook the ground on impact, knocking Asuna and Negi off-balance momentarily. "Kaede-san, go get Kū! Make sure she's alright!" Asuna swung her sword with all her might but the thing's strength was so immense the even with the counter force, Asuna was still forced backwards. "GO! We can't cover you!" Kaede scraped herself off of the sidewalk, most of the clothes on the left half of her body burned to ash, and tried to leave. She managed to make it a few feet before collapsing with a cry of pain. "It's no use, Asuna-san…My leg is injured. I can't even feel it." This time, the creature swung at Negi; who had to back his block with magic and was still knocked onto his back, where he flipped back to his feet and began chanting the dual _complexio_ again. "Then just get out of here!" Too late. The thing whirled around with blinding speed and drove its fist into Kaede, throwing her into one of the supports on the main bridge and whirled again to punch at Asuna again. Asuna was shoved backwards with another block, this time digging into the dirt as she was forced off of the cobblestone. Eva slipped behind the thing and flew up to its head, where she tried to split its skull with her magic blade. The blade broke against its (apparently) hardened skin. It whirled around; and before Eva could act: it spewed more of its flaming mucus on her, knocking her from the air and onto the ground in an unmoving, burning heap. The beast turned to Negi and Asuna, the only two left standing.

"**_Dost thou now see thy folly in thy resistance?_**" It clapped its hands together and spread them quickly. I wave of dark purple energy swept forth. It shattered buildings, uprooted and splintered trees, and lifted the last two fighters off of their feet. Negi, now able to freely move in the air, began bombarding Dracula with flurries of strikes and spells. Nothing even left a mark on him. Asuna hit the ground hard and rolled to the right to avoid being crushed by falling debris. Mid-roll, she angled her sword outward and used the tip to fling herself airborne towards the beast. She gave her sword a quick twirl and plunged it into the beast's arm while it was busy swatting at Negi. No blood seeped from the wound; it wasn't deep enough.

"Damn it!" This was infuriating. Everything they did had no effect. It looked like the only thing she could do would be to sever whatever limbs on this thing that weren't meters thick. That basically left the fingers. Asuna angled her sword and ran towards Dracula and brought her sword upwards as he swung at her. Her blade dug into his hand but came to a stop as it hit the bone. She leaped onto its hand and began furiously hacking away at the wrist, trying to sever it completely; but she only managed to cut halfway through until she hit the bone again and Dracula threw her off. She landed on her feet next to Eva, who was struggling to stand, covered in severe burns. "What do we do, Eva? I can't cut through its bones, and Negi's spells don't seem to do anything!"

"No shit! I didn't notice; I only just had my _ass kicked_!" His menacing laughter echoed. "**_Dost thou understand? I cannot be slain by the like of thee. Thy powers are far too weak._**" Dammit! Dammit dammit dammit! What could they do? While Asuna was lost in thought, Evangeline's hair had faded from blonde to white and her eyes were the color of blood. "…Never…" The shadows that littered the ground around them began to twist and peel from the ruined cobblestone as Evangeline's magical power began to leak. "Never! I'll not let myself lose to _him_!" Asuna was blown sideways as Evangeline's sheer vampiric magical power flooded out. Her nails grew and hardened to form what seemed to be claws and her fangs appeared. She looked like a feral beast that had been driven to kill. She loosed an inhuman, blood-curdling scream and vanished in an instant, the force of her leap blowing a crater meters deep into the ground.

"Is this…the power of the vampires? I wonder why she's never used it before…" Asuna could only watch as Evangeline was able to single-handedly block and counter Dracula's strikes, even though her attacks seemed to be doing no more than Negi's. "What the hell is this?"

"It is her primal instinct, Asuna-san." Asuna jumped at the new voice that had appeared next to her. "Ah! Chachamaru-san! Where the Hell'd _you_ come from?" Chachamaru never took her eyes from the battle of the supernatural that was unfolding before them. "I have been here the whole time. The Mistress had specifically ordered that I not intervene in this fight." Everything went black for a second as Evangeline knocked Dracula from his feet. Her energy seemed to absorb light instead of creating it. This was an odd phenomenon. "The Mistress' hatred for her uncle and her unwillingness to lose to him has caused her subconscious instinct to take control of her mind. She will not calm down until one of them is dead." Dracula swung his open hand right and grabbed the enraged Evangeline, who struggled furiously while Negi launched spell after spell at its arm trying to free her. Not even feeling the spells, Dracula cocked his arm back and launched Evangeline at the ground. She ricocheted off of the ruined stone and hacked up an uncomfortably large amount of blood. Was this really how everything was going to end? Did they have any chance at beating this thing? She thought she saw something on the rooftops out of the corner of her eye, but dismissed it as her imagination. "**_I grow tired of this game. Let us end it._**" He dug his claws into the sky and forcibly ripped a hole in the fabric of space, reached in, and pulled out his hostages. "**_I think it time that make good on my warning. Perhaps the first one I kill shall be the blonde one…_**" With his free hand, he pulled a semi-conscious Ayaka from the others and held her head between his thumb and index fingers. "**_All I need do is to squeeze, and she will cease to be. What will you do?_**" An unholy rage boiled up from deep within Asuna's soul. She felt her grip tighten on the handle of her sword and her energy pour forth into it. "What will I do? If you so much as scratch her, I'll tear you apart!" She readied the _Ensis exorcizans_ and rushed into battle again, lusting for blood; but was stopped short as what appeared to be translucently white, amorphous blobs burst from the ground around Dracula and converged on him, exploding.

"What the Hell!" The smoke cleared as Dracula fell to his knees, groaning in pain. His hands fell limply to his sides as he dropped the hostages. Asuna dropped her sword and ran forward to catch Ayaka in her arms while Negi used the wind to catch the others. Asuna gently shook Ayaka, trying to wake her. "Ayaka. Ayaka!" Ayaka's unfocused eyes rose slightly and seemed to lock on Asuna. "Asuna…san? What…What…happened?" Asuna held Ayaka close in a hug. "I'll explain later, Ayaka. I'm just glad you're safe." Asuna felt tears of joy welling up. She had never really believed in a God before, but this had to be the work of one. "Ayaka…I can't even begin to tell you how happy I am. I was so worried…" Ayaka gave a weak chuckle. "This…isn't like you…at…all…" She tried hard and managed to wrap her own arms around Asuna as well. "I'm glad to know that you were worried about me." The two of them sat there for a second before Dracula got to his feet and screamed in rage, snapping Asuna back to reality. She turned to grab her sword before she realized that she dropped it and it was out of reach.

Before the others could do anything, several of the fireballs that Dracula had been throwing earlier impacted heavily into the side of his head, knocking him to the ground and causing him to scream. Both Negi and Asuna looked around for whoever was doing what they could not, but they couldn't see anybody. Hell, the fireballs moved so fast that they only caught the explosion. Whoever it was, it didn't matter. Asuna saw her chance, and she took it. She flipped her blade into a backhand grip and, with a mighty leap, plunged it as far into Dracula's throat as she could. His screams came out gargled as blood and air escaped through his now-punctured throat. He scratched at it frantically before ceasing to move at all. The gigantic beast began to melt into the shadows, leaving only Dracula's original form laying on the ground and struggling for breath and covered in his own blood. "To think that I…who have lived for years…would be slain here by no more than children. Hah…My son…Maybe you were right…" He beckoned to Evangeline, who could only stand with the aid of Chachamaru. The two slowly made their way over to his side and Evangeline collapsed again. "You've gotten strong…Evangeline…If only…we had been more of a family…Maybe this…never would have happened…" He reached up slowly and gently tugged on Negi's clothes once. "…Boy…Look out for your mother…Protect my…niece…" With a last, shuddering gasp; Dracula, too, melted away into the shadows. Finally, the nightmare was over. Asuna and Ayaka remained in each other's arms, not having moved since her release. The only thing left was to get the wounded and the hostages to the infirmary.

There was a faint flapping of wings overhead that only Evangeline noticed. With all her strength, she raised her head up just in time to see a larger-than-average bat disappear into the night sky. She sat there, supported by her companion, with a drunken look on her face before she was able to voice her thoughts. "…Adrian…?" She wasn't sure, but…maybe… "Hm? Did you say something, Eva-san?" Negi looked a little concerned as he asked, but Eva weakly shook her head. "No…Nothing. It's probably my imagination." Chachamaru shifted her hold on Evangeline so that she could bow politely to Negi. "Thank you for helping the Mistress, Negi-sensei. If it is all right with you, I would like to take her home so that she may heal." With that, the two took ff into the sky and flew off towards Eva's house, leaving Negi and Asuna to take the hostages to the infirmary on their own. Negi helped Konoka to her feet and slung the other two over his shoulders, swaying slightly under their combined weight, and staggered off to see if the infirmary was even still intact. After tonight, it would take another miracle. It felt as though they'd already used up all their miracles. Asuna sealed her sword and tucked it back into her bra, then proceeded to pick Ayaka up as though she were carrying the blonde across the threshold of their honeymoon. "Don't worry. You'll be better in no time." Ayaka nuzzled her head into Asuna's chest and sighed. "If it means staying like this, even just a bit longer, I don't want to go." A smirk tugged at Asuna's lips as she began her trek across campus. Maybe…Just maybe…What had just happened wasn't _completely_ bad. A haunting question still lingered in the air, but she'd address that later. Who was it that had the strength to do so much damage to Dracula so fast; and were they friend...or were they foe?


	4. Epilogue

**Epilogue**

The infirmary was quiet at daybreak the following morning. All of the hostages from the Dracula incident had since been dismissed except for one, who stayed there of her own volition. Since they had arrived there, Asuna had stayed by Ayaka's bedside and had no intention of leaving. "Ayaka…I'm so sorry that you were dragged into that…" She took Ayaka's hand and gently stroked it. She was sure of it now, that she cared about Ayaka. "Don't blame yourself…You couldn't have done anything to stop it. She gently grabbed Asuna's hand from hers and placed it against her cheek. "I'm just happy knowing that it was you who saved me." Except it wasn't. They had no idea who it was who had saved them all, but Asuna wasn't about to say that. "Still…It's because of me that you were taken in the first place…" Ayaka smiled. "Well, then…How about you become my knight?"

"What?" This completely took Asuna by surprise. "Yeah! I'll be your princess, and you'll be my knight and protect me!" This was a little further out-of-character than Asuna was expecting, but what the hell? "…Yeah. I'll always protect you, my princess." She leaned over Ayaka, brushed the hair from her face, and kissed her deeply. After about a minute, she broke it; but Ayaka reached up and pulled her back. She tugged Asuna gently up onto the bed and Asuna complied. Their bodies pressed together, they stayed in the same bed until morning; though exactly what occurred between the two during that time is known to them and them alone.

xXxXxXx

Dawn broke across the ruined city of Mahora as if it were an ordinary day, not caring about the war that had taken place the night before. A flock of birds circled in the sky before flying off to find a new home. A man stood amongst the upper branches of the World Tree, unseen to the world, and gazed out across the destruction. His wore a black vest with gold trim over a white dress shirt as well as an elegant coat of matching colors. His skin-tight black pants were tucked neatly into his Victorian era boots and his black cloak fluttered carelessly in the gentle breeze. At first glance, any spectator would have easily mistaken him for Count Dracula; the man responsible for so many deaths at the school not a day before. He sighed deeply. "Is there no end to Father's madness?"

"It's been some time since you've been here, Adrian…" Without turning around, the man knew who it was that spoke to him. "Indeed it has, Konoemon. How is Evangeline?" Dean Konoe stood only a branch below him, well within reach if he were inclined. "She seems to be doing much better now. She was really lonely when you left, you know." He huffed an acknowledgment. "What about the young boy? Takamichi, I believe it was?"

"Takahata is doing fine. He's quite the gifted fighter, and a talented teacher as well. But that's enough of the small talk, Adrian. There's only one reason you'd come back here…" A silence fell over them. It lasted only a second, but it was still a suffocating silence. "…Yes. This world…is about to end."

* * *

**AUTHOR'S NOTE**

If you enjoyed this story, keep an eye out for it's sequel:

_Time and Space: The Nexus_

Out now!

**Crossovers** - Castlevania & Negima! Magister Negi Magi/魔法先生ネギま！

**SNEAK PEEK  
**_The demons drew near, and the blast doors needed more time to seal. Pocket stepped forward with a look of conviction upon his face. "You'd better get in there, friends. I'll hold them off." He was pale and drenched with sweat. "No! Not alone you won't! I won't let anyone else die!" He smiled. "Alucard. You are the son of Dracula, and the only chance these children have of surviving. They need you more than I. Besides. I can take these chumps, easy!" Alucard grew more furious, his rage manifesting itself around his body. "You've lost too much blood! I WON'T LET YOU DIE!"_

_"I said get in there!" Pocket spun around and his enormous fist connected with Alucard's face, knocking him backwards into the airlock. "Farewell...My friend." Alucard scrambled to his feet ans the door slammed shut, sealing seamlessly with a slight hiss. He began to pound madly on the door. "God DAMN it, Pocket! Open the door! THAT'S A FUCKING ORDER!" His words fell upon deaf ears. Pocket took a deep breath and levelled both his miniguns at the approaching horde. "Bring it on, motherfuckers! Think you got what it takes to kill me?" The hallway lit up as he opened up with both barrels, tearing demons in half by the dozens with the twin streams of bullets. Blood painted the walls._

_"Pocket! Please! Don't do this! Open the door! I'm begging you!" An inhuman scream pierced the stillness of the airlock as Alucard's eyes began to glow red and shadows engulfed his arm. He uttered only two words: "Stand back." He pulled back his fist and slammed it into the door as hard as possible. Unable to withstand such force, the door was sheared off of its hinges._

_The hallway was dead silent and as dark as the deepest pits of Hell. There were no corpses, no signs of the great battle that had taken place here only seconds before, save walls painted orange with demonic blood. In the middle of the hall, torn apart and laying in a pool of crimson, lay Jonathan "Pocket" Meredith's precious gun, Betsy._

_Fury boiled up inside of the vampire prince, and 3-A could see that the real nightmare had not yet begun._


	5. Honorifics

**HONORIFICS**

This is a list of all the honorifics I know. I probably won't use them all in one story, but I don't want to type it over and over.

-_san --- _This is the most common honorific and is equivalent to Mr., Miss, Ms., or Mrs. It is the all-purpose honorific and can be used in any situation where politeness is required

-_sama --- _This is one level higher than "-_san_" and is used to confer great respect.

-_dono --- _This comes from "tono" which means "lord". It is an even higher level than " -_sama_" and confers utmost respect.

-_kun --- _This suffix is used at the end of boys' names to express familiarity or endearment. It is also sometimes used by men among friends, or when addressing someone of  
younger or of a lower station.

-_chan --- _This is used to express endearment, mostly towards girls. It is also used for little boys, pets, and even among lovers. It gives a sense of childish cuteness.

-_bōzu --- _This is an informal way to refer to a boy, similar to the English terms "kid" and "squirt".

-_sempai --- _This title suggests that the addressee is one's senior in a group or organization.

-_kohai_ --- This is the opposite of "-_sempai_".

-_sensei_ --- Literally meaning "one who comes before", this title is used for teachers, doctors, or masters of any profession.

-_anesan_ --- A generic term for a girl, usually older, that means sister.

-_ojōsama_ --- A way of referring to the daughter or sister of someone with high political or social status.

-[blank] --- The lack of an honorific means that the speaker has permission to address the person in a very intimate way. Usually, only family, spouses, or very close friends have  
this kind of permission. It can be gratifying when someone who has earned this intimacy starts to call one by one's name without an honorific. However; when one  
hasn't earned that intimacy, it can be VERY insulting .


End file.
